Trump's tariffs target even uninhabited islands in shock move
The tariff list signed on Wednesday by Donald Trump includes some of the most remote corners of the world. Among them are even uninhabited islands like the Heard and McDonald Islands, which are inhabited only by penguins and seals.
What do you need to know?
- American Tariffs even covered uninhabited Heard and McDonald Islands, which belong to Australia, with a 10% tax on all exported goods.
- The Falklands were hit with a 41% tariff on exports to the USA, despite their main export products being mussels and frozen fish.
It's unclear why American tariffs included uninhabited islands
American tariffs, introduced by President Donald Trump, targeted even the most distant and uninhabited places in the world. Heard and McDonald Islands, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean, were subjected to a 10% tax on all exports, even though they are inhabited only by seals, penguins, and birds. A similar fate also befell the Cocos Islands, where about 600 people live.
Falklands and Myanmar on the tariff list
As noted by the AFP agency, the Falklands were also affected by a 41% tariff on exports to the USA. This is particularly detrimental for this territory, which mainly exports mussels and frozen fish. The Falklands, with a population of 3,200 people and about one million penguins, ranked 173rd in the world for exports, with a value of $306 million in 2019. Meanwhile, Argentina, which claims rights to the Falklands, was only subjected to a 10% tariff.
Myanmar, still rebuilding after an earthquake that killed nearly 3,000 people, now has to pay a 44% tariff on exports to the USA.
